Can You Sum Up Love In Six Words?

When I was in elementary school my favorite form of poetry was the haiku. I liked the simplicity and rigid structure - for me the challenge of creative writing isn't coming up with an idea, but figuring out how to express that idea. The haiku imposes some wonderfully liberating limits: you've got 17 syllables and three lines. Given my need for rules, it makes sense that I would totally dig Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak, which is exactly what it sounds like. The project was partly inspired by Ernest Hemingway's possibly apocryphal response to a challenge to write a six-word story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." It doesn't get much better than that, but mortals like us can still give it our best shot.

I couldn't find a good six-word photo, so here's one of Shane, Mike and I at a party over the weekend.

The creators of the project cast a wide net for contributors, and two of my favorite entries were from unlikely sources:

Fashion designer Marc Ecko: "It never hurt as good again."

Literary agent Esther Newberg: "He told me he was single."

Naturally, I had to try my hand at it. Here are a few:

- "Cannon fodder on battlefield of love."

- "She gave me her podiatrist's number."

- "She moved to Belize, I think."

Can you sum up a relationship in six words? C'mon, it's fun!

P.S. Date tonight! She's the friend of a friend. We had a surprisingly enjoyable introductory conversation last night, but I've never even seen her so I'm stealing Erin's dating mantra and keeping expectations low. We're going to one of my favorite restaurants, so if nothing else I'll enjoy a good meal and meet someone interesting.